Air brush



Jan. 16, 1940. I I E CRUMLEY 2,187,195

AIR BRUSH Filed July 13, 1938 A v INVENTOR; Ema-5m U2 Cruz-n12)? Witm 3:.-

v A TTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 1e,194o

PATENTorFiee r j AIRBRUSH Emerson Crumley, Muskegon, Mich Application July 13, 1938 Serial No. 218,915

The present invention relates to air brushes for applying paint and the like; and its object is, generally, to provide an instrument'cf this character improved in respects hereinafter appearing; and particularlymoprovide such an in strument having improved meansfor regulating the amount of paint applied therebyand the speed with which it is ap flied,involving means for "regulating the position of the held of the I'd vmovement of the paint-discharging meanstineans "for relatively regulating the paint-discharging means with the means for sprayingthe paint on the work, etc.; and to provide improved and simple means wherebysuch operations ofthe instrul ment, and combinations of such operations, may i be accurately and easily controlled; andfurther, to provide improved means for'housing and pr tecting the instrument against injury; and fur ther, to provide improved means for mounting the 34) paint-discharging needleof such an instrument a on the means for operatingthesame.

These and any other objects hereinafter appearing are attained by, and the invention finds preferable embodiment in, the illustrative in'- 5 strument particularly described in the body of this specification and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front or upperside view of an ,air brush or paint distributor, the cover being 30 removed to show interior parts thereof and a portion of the body being broken away; Figure 2 is a like view of parts thereof shown inanother position; j

t Figure 3 is a left hand side view of the same; 5 Figure 4 is an upper end view thereof shown partly in transverse section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1; i a

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional View of the same taken on1ine 55 ofFigure l; 40 Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view thereof taken on line l5-6 of Figure 1; r

Figure '7 is an enlarged detail view of parts of the same.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated by the drawing an instrument for applying paint and the like and commonly called. an air brush or paint distributor is shown having a hollow The : 51s ward movementof the reciprocating needle 8 a 5Ciaims. (o zsa se) which isjrernovably mounted on the outer (up perl arm 9 of the lever H) by bending the needle around said arm as shown in;. Figure 4; This 4 leverlil isfulcrumed at H medially of the link H! which is pivotally connected at l3 and Mre- 5 spectively with the upper end of the link !5 and the free outer end portion lfi'of the rigid elongated tubular member ll 'whichis pivoted at it on 'thebody, i. e., on the portion i9 thereof,

for limited turning movement toward the right 10 hand and left hand sides 20 and 5 of thebcdy.

This tubular member il is movedto, and held 4 in, adjusted positions by turning the screw 2! threaded therein and having an annular groove 22 journalled in the bar 23 which serves to clamp said screw on the bodyby turning down the screw 24 which passes through this bar and is threaded in the bodys right hand side 28, as best seen in Figure '7; i

A pelton wheel 25 journalled at 26 on said end portion H5 of the tubular member H has a wrist pin 2! turnable and slidable in the longitudinal slot 28 of the inner (lowerlarm 29 of the lever ID for rocking this lever on its fulcrum Hand thereby reciprocating the needle 3.

The lower end of the link I5 is pivoted at 30 medially of an operating element, the bar 3i, slidable and turnable in the longitudinal slot 32 in the left hand side of the body, and having the handle knob 33. This bar 3! is pivoted at 35 30 .on one armf35 of the bell crank lever 36 fulcrumed at 3'! on the body,this levers otherarm 3B engaging on the upper side of the adjustable collar 39 on the stem 48 of a valve 48, having a valve seat 42, for controlling the conduit 43 35 through which and through the flexible tube 44 air passes from an outside pressure source. I

This conduit 43 has a branch 45 communicating with said rigid tubular member H at its pivotally mounted end i8, so that the air stream pass- 40 ingthrough this member H is vented at its discharge end 46 to strike the buckets ll of the pelton wheel for rotating thesame and thereby reciprocating the needle. The'other branch 48 of said conduit 43 communicating with the tube 49 in the hollow body leads to its discharge nozzle 50, adjacent the discharge vent l of the spoon 3 and at an angle to the direction in which the paint is carried by the needle 8 therefrom, for v spraying the paint on the work.

The needle 8 is slidably guided between the side of the spoon at 1 5! and the bottom of the kerf indicated at 52 in the head of the screw 53 threaded for adjustment in the arm 54 pivot- 55 ally mounted on the body by the clamping screw 55 as shown in Figure 4.

The outer (upper) end portion of the arm 9 of lever l0 and the needle carried thereby are protected from injury by the housing 56 removably mounted on the upper end of the body by a screw 5'! and having at its side an opening 10 for inserting the needle. The valve 69 in the branch 45 may be turned by its handle M to regulate the air stream passing therethrough relatively to that which passes through the other branch passage 48.- I I It will be seen that, in order to accommodate a needle of desiredlength and also to adjust the field of its reciprocating movement (i.'e. the location of the space between the opposite limits of its said movement) and for the especial purpose of fixing the distance to which the point 58 of the needle is to be extruded from the vent I of the spoon, the screw 2| may be turned to swing the tubularmember l1 toward the left hand side of the body (as to the position shown in Figure 1) so that the needles point will be extruded farther out of said vent in each of its operative movements, or that this screw 2| may be turned oppositely to swing said member ll toward the right hand side of the body (as to the position seen in Figure 2) so that the needles point will not be extruded so far out of said vent, such movements of the rigid member H carrying with it the pelton wheel and the fulcrum I I of the lever it without disturbing their fixed spaced relation on said members rigid end portion 56; and it will be seenthat the valve 60 may be turned by its handle 68 to control the flow of air through the branch v and the member I! for regulating the speed of the pelton wheels rotation, and also for governing relatively to each other the flow of air through this branch 45' and that through the other branch 48 and the tube 49 for spraying the paint; and also that, the initial adjustments by the screw 2| and valve 69 being made, the operations of the instrument may be effected and regulated by manipulating the bar 3| by its knob handle in the following manner and for the following purposes: By pushing this bar inwardly the bell cranks arm 38 is turned downwardly'and.

the valve stem illthereby slid against the pressure of the spring 59 for opening the valve 4| to admit air through the conduit 43 and into its said branches, or for partially unseatingv this valve for governing the volume of the air flow through said branches and thus regulating the speed of the pelton wheels rotation and that of the needles reciprocating movement, and also the force of the spraying air stream; and further, that this same bar 3| may be turned downwardly on its pivot 34 for turning the link l2 (through the link I5). on its pivot M downwardly to shift the fulcrum H of lever 19 toward the pelton wheels axis 26 and thus increase the length of the needles reciprocating movements and consequently the distance to which its point 58 is to be extruded from the spoons vent, and also to increase the speed at which said levers arm 9 and the needle carried thereby move in each reciprocating movement of the needle; or this bar 31 may be turned upwardly for eifecting opposite results.

It is evident that the faster the needle is reciprocated by the pelton wheel (i. e. the greater the number of its reciprocations in a given time) and the farther the point of the needle carrying the paint is extruded from the spoon and into the field of the spraying effect of air issuing from the nozzle 50, the greater will be the amount of paint applied to the work in the given time, and vice versa.

In practice, the instrument is so held in the hand that the knob 33 may be conveniently manipulated, and the valve handle 6| operated by the other hand.

It will be seen that, the screw 2! having been turned to swing ,the rigid tubular member I! to desired adjusted position, the various operative movements and combinations of operative movements above described are under constant control and regulation by the operator who is able to effect the same with great nicety by manipulating the bar 3| and the handle 6! of the valve 69 as above described; and that the exactitude of such regulation is due largely to the rigid character of the pivotally mounted member l! which carries the pelton wheel and the fulcrum l I, and to the positive and unyielding character of the connections between the parts.

The invention being intended to be pointed out in the claims, is not to be limited to or by details of construction and arrangement of the particular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawing or hereinbefore described or shown.

I claim:

1. In an instrument of the class described for applying paint or the like having a paint container with a reoiprocating needle for carrying the paint therefrom and a conduit for air under pressure, a tubular member communicating with the conduit pivotally mounted for movement to adjusted position relatively to the container for shifting the field of the needles reciprocating movement, a wheel journallecl on said member for rotation by the air stream therefrom having a wrist pin, a link turnably mounted on said member, a lever fulcrumed on the link engaging the needle for reciprocating the same and having a longitudinally slotted arm in which the wrist pin engages turnably and slidably for rocking the lever, and means for turning the link to move the fulcrum relatively to the wheel for changing the length of the needles movement and the speed thereof.

2. In an instrument of the class described for applying paint or the like having a paint container with a reciprocating needle for carrying the paint therefrom and a conduit for air under pressure, a tubular member communicating with the conduit pivotally mounted for movement to adjusted position relatively to the container for shifting the field of the needles reciprocating movement, a wheel journalled on said member for rotation by the air stream therefrom having a wrist pin, a link turnably mounted on said member, a lever fulcrumed on the link engaging the needle for reciprocating the same and having a longitudinally slotted arm in which the wrist pin engages turnably and slidably for rocking the lever, and means for turning the link to move the fulcrum relatively to the wheel for changing the length of the nendles movement and the speed thereof, said means comprising a manually operated element connected with the link for turning the same.

3. In an instrument of the class described for applying paint or the like having a paint container with a reciprocating needle for carrying the paint therefrom and a conduit for air under pressure with a controlling valve, a tubular member communicating with the conduit pivotally mounted for movement to adjusted position relatively to the container for shifting the field of the needles reciprocating movement, a wheel journalled on said memberfor rotation by the air stream therefrom, a linkturnably mounted on said member, a lever fulcrumed on the link engaging the needle for reciprocating the same and engaging the wheel turnably and slidably for rocking the lever, and a-manually operated element operatively related with the link and the valve having a movement for turning the linkto move the fulcrum relatively to the wheel for changing the length of the needles movement and the speed thereof and amovement for controlling the valve.

4. In an instrument of the class described for applying paint or the like having a paint container with a reciprocating needle for carrying the paint therefrom and a conduit for air under pressure with a controlling valve, a tubular member communicating with the conduit pivotally mounted for movement to adjusted position relatively to the container for shifting the field of the needles reciprocating movement, a wheel jourrocking the lever, and a manually operated element operatively related with thelink and the valve having a pivotal movement for turning the link to move the fulcrum relatively to the wheel for changing the length of the needles movement and the speed thereof and a longitudinal movethe paint therefrom and a conduit for air under pressure with a controlling valve, a tubular member communicating with the conduit pivotally mounted for movement to, adjusted position relatively to the container for shifting the field of the needles reciprocating movement, a wheel journalled on said member for rotation by the air stream therefrom, a link turnably mounted on said member, a lever fulcrumed on the link engaging the needle for reciprocating the same and engaging the wheel turnably and slidably for rocking the lever, and a manually operated element operatively related with the link and the valve having a movement for turning the link to move the fulcrum relatively to the Wheel for changing the length of the needles movement and the speed thereof and a movement for controlling the valve, the instrument having also a conduit for air under pressure branching from the first-mentioned conduit and having a manually operated valve for regulating the relative flow of air through the conduits.

EMERSON U. CRUMLEY. 

